Motor vehicle speedometer



Nov. 25; 1941. 5 LEE MOTOR VEHICLE SPEEDOMETER Filed March 31, 1939 INVENTOR 1301'? L es:

Q, ATTORNEY BYQ Patented Nov. 25,194!

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Moron vnnr c g s l nnnonmrna Appucaflfli Mtr zili lf r g gzfig; 265,234

This invention relates generally to motor vehicle equipment and in particular the invention is directed to an improvement in speedometers for motor vehicles. I

As arranged at present in motor vehicles, the

speedometer is mounted behind the instrument panel and is read through a window in said panel.

The driver of the motor vehicle must glance down to read the speedometer, and when so doing must look away from the highway ahead; a dangerous procedure especially when traveling at high speed.

It is therefore the principal object of my invention to provide a motor vehicle speedometer which is so arranged and mounted that the driver is apprised of the vehicle speed without the necessity of looking away from the. highway ahead; the numerals representing the vehicle speed being projected as transparent images onto the windshield directly in front of the driver and by means of reflected light.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which will be exceedingly 'efl'ective for the purpose for which it is designed. These objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawing similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views:

color-such as red-to reflect a maximum amount of light.

The interior cowl portion 3 is formed with a window 9 in register with the dial and in facing relation to'the windshield I; said window being substantially the same width as the dial face I and of a length to expose one numeral and a portion ofboth the numerals ahead of and the one following such exposed numeral, as shown in Fig. 2. The window 9 is of sufficient depth to form in effect a well and is so positioned that the bottom thereof faces the windshield; said bottom of Figure 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic sideele- 3 vation of the device as embodied in a motor ve- 'hicler'.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the slotted cowl portion of the instrument panel and showing the speedometer dial therebeneath.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view of the windshield from the inside and showing the images of the numerals as projected thereon.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawing, .the numeral I- indicates .a motor vehicle windshield sloping I rearwardly as is now customary; the substantially vertical instrument panel being shown at 2, and the substantially horizontal interior cowl portion being shown at 3.

A speedometer 4 is mounted directly beneath the cowl portion 3 and behind the instrument panel 2; this speedometer having the usual drive mechanism therein and driven-from a flex cable axis horizontal and transversely of the vehicle;

is flat transversely.

i i as, is common practice. The speedometer includes a rotary circular dial-.6 disposed with its this well being the exposed portion of the black face! of dial 6. An electric globe i0 is mounted under the cowl portion and in position to illuminate this exposed portion of the dial face which registers with window 9 or forms the bottom. of such well; the circuit II for such globe having a manually controlled rheostat i2 interposed therein and for the purpose of controlling the intensity of the light cast on the dial.

Operation tion from the dead black face of the dial, the

numerals are reflected in bold outlineon the windshield and without any background, as is desirable.

The usual mileage counting mechanism will be visible through an instrument panel window.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I have produced such a device, as substantially-fulfills the objects of the invention as set forthpherein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the f present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not forma departure I0 is illuminated,

from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.-

Having thus described my invention, .what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: I

1. In a motor vehicle, a windshield,- a movable speed indicating element having light reflecting indicia thereon in reverse position, an interior cowl portion extending rearwardly from the windshield, means mounting the speed indicating element on the vehicle beneath said cowl portion,

the cowl portion having an opening therein exposing a portion of said element, and means to illuminate said exposed portion of the speed indicating element, the latter facing the windshield at such an angle as to cause an image or the indicia on said portion of the element to be directly projected onto the windshield and reflected rearwardly therefrom in substantially the line of vision of the driver of the vehicle.

2. In a motor vehicle, a windshield, a driven dial, light reflecting speed indicia on said dial in reverse position, a cowl extending rearwardly from the windshield, means mounting the dial beneath said cowl, a well in said cowl exposing a portion of the dial and certain of the speed eating am having light reflecting indicia thereon in reverse position; a cowl extending rearwardly onto the windshield and reflected rearwardly therefrom in substantially the line of vision of the driver of the vehicle.

4. A device as in claim 3 in which said portion of the well is illuminated by a light source disposed under the cowl; the well having an opening therein through which the light passes to said dial portion from the light source.

5. In a motor vehicle, a rearwardly and upwardly sloping windshield, a cowl extending rearwardly from the windshield, a circumferential dial having a flat face transversely, light reflecting indicia thereon in reverse position, means mounting the dial beneath the cowl on an axis extending transversely of the vehicle, the cowl having an opening therein exposing and framing a portion of the dial face, and means to illuminate said portion; the latter facing upwardly and forwardly at such an angle as to the windshield to cause an image of the indicia on said portion to be directly projected onto the windshield and reflected. rearwardly therefrom in substantially the line of vision of the driver of the vehicle.

BERT .LEE. 

